


One of the good guys

by JauntyHako



Series: Post Season 5 AU [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Emotionally stunted men failing to talk about their feelings, Gen, Gratuitous amounts of Wraith humour, John and Todd playing video games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:16:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7402381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JauntyHako/pseuds/JauntyHako
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Atlantis is asked to help with relief efforts for a town that has had trouble with earthquakes, which to John Sheppard is a sterling opportunity to show off his friendly neighbourhood wraith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One of the good guys

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know where I was going with this. I just had like half a dozen bad wraith jokes in my head and needed to get them out of my system.

"This is most entertaining."

"Thought you might say that. Had Rodney program in some better maps, too. Also can you hurry up a little with the light bridge, the ticker's running out and … I'm dead."

Todd rumbled an apology and they started up the level again, progressing through the ridiculously complicated map that only someone like Rodney could come up with. Though it had the benefit of keeping Todd busy for a while. His lips moved as he tried to figure out the solution in advance, while John's approach to "thinking with portals" was to jump around and try different things until one of them stuck.

 

There were few things from earth Todd found interesting. Most of the literature held little recreational appeal to someone from a radically different culture and the movies tended to be too flashy and mindless. Although he had enjoyed The Martian, which to a wraith was more of a sentimental horror flick, with the running theme of loneliness and people trying to connect with each other. For a telepathic hive species being stranded alone on an entire planet was just about the worst thing that could happen. But Todd enjoyed it if for different reasons than John did and shortly after they found the one thing that could keep them both entertained for hours. Puzzle games.

He completed the single player campaign of both games in a ridiculously short time, even with Rodney's altered maps to make it more of a challenge. John would have been worried about him developing an addiction, but the truth was he was more worried about Todd starting to quote GlaDOS. Or worse yet, take inspiration from her.

"I would appreciate if you were to quit jumping into my field of vision. I am close to figuring out the puzzle."

John laughed and did a few extra jumps right in front of Todd, just to needle him a bit.

"If I had known you'd find me so distracting, I'd have put a nicer shirt on."

Awkward silence could have spread, followed by several days of strained conversation. It had happened before to John, wishing he could take his words back almost immediately, him jokingly flirting with someone else without thinking about the consequences. Don't ask, don't tell and while the rules on Atlantis were much different, thanks to the international nature of the expedition, the sentiment still ran through much of the base.

But Todd wasn't military, wasn't even from earth and in any event, he seemed to like John too much to let it become awkward between them, just because of some weird earthling hang-up his buddy had.

"I assure you, John Sheppard, that is not necessary." he said, with a slight teasing lilt and there he went again with his name, as if 'John Sheppard' meant something wildly inappropriate in wraith.

They took up playing again and eventually, through a mixture of both their tactics they beat another two levels before parting for the night. Todd didn't really sleep but he respected John's need to do so and often kept the night shift in the gateroom company while working on his own theories.

 

That was where John found him the next morning, still deeply engrossed in his equations while around him the dayshift took up their stations. Their team was due to depart to another planet in little over half an hour and John, as usual, found himself in the gateroom early, munching on a sandwich. Todd acknowledged him by turning his chair slightly as if to invite him into his personal sphere. John stepped closer, leaning against the workstation as they waited for Rodney and Teyla.

"Good morning!" Woolsey said as he walked past into his office, greeted with a duet of grunts. The base woke up like a deep breath Atlantis took to prepare for the day. It always amazed John just how alive the city was at times, not just the people working and living in her, but Atlantis herself. After six years he still noticed the lights coming on by themselves, the temperature of the water always being perfect, the way the city shifted and changed to accommodate them. She was a living, breathing creature not unlike Todd's hives, always warm under his touch and having, according to the wraith, a mind of her own.

"You look like you're debating the structure of the universe." Rodney said as he came in, his own sandwich in hand and a second stuffed in one of his chest pockets. "Although I doubt it's anything so groundbreaking. What are you thinking about, huh? Ferris wheels again?"

"Hives." John muttered without thinking. He blushed when Todd's fingers stilled over the keyboard, curiosity practically radiating from him.

"Really?" Rodney asked, oblivious to the subtle changes in Todd's body language. It was as if he knew he was thinking about the similarities between the city he loved more than anything else and the wraith's ships in a way that was entirely too introspective for him to talk about openly. So John did the only sensible thing and backpedaled like hell.

"I was just wondering how many there are. I mean, not all wraith are allied with us, it pays to know what your enemy's numbers are."

A second went past, then another one. Todd started typing again, another potential crisis averted. Rodney made a sound as if he was already calculating a way to estimate the Hives currently in existence. Teyla arrived minutes later and then they were on their way to another planet, to check on the population and help with some trouble they'd been having.

 

"Dear Ancestors, it's true."

"A wraith."

"He's not attacking them."

"I heard he is unquestioningly loyal to these people."

By now they'd all gotten used to the whispers. John had heard the wildest things said about them when people thought they couldn't hear, up to and including Todd having a chip implanted in his brain that allowed them to control him.

The mayor approached them, wary of the wraith's presence but outwardly being the very picture of professionalism.

"Welcome, Colonel Sheppard. You have come just in time. We've had some earthquakes recently and some of our buildings are no longer structurally sound. Evacuation efforts are going too slow and we had hoped your people might be able to help."

John shrugged.

"Sure. I mean, we can definitely spare the people. How about medical supplies?"

The mayor led them to the town's biggest inn while she explained their situation in further detail. Serious injuries were few, fatalities so far none, but the whole town threatened to collapse on them soon. Through it all she never once acknowledged Todd, which was new. Most people either subtly tried to figure out what the deal was with the friendly wraith, or they bluntly told them to come back when they've stopped 'worshipping' the wraith. Todd seemed to find the image of the team worshipping him greatly amusing, since he tended to laugh to himself all the way back to the gate whenever that happened. Eventually most people came around and the inhabitants of this planet already knew of Todd, even if they'd never met him in person. John figured a bit of humanitarian aid would distract people from the other kind of humanitarian Todd was.

Unfortunately Todd was feeling playful, which meant John's job got about 80% harder.

They were served dinner by the mayor's daughter who with some pride announced the dishes she made herself and that did smelled delicious. At last she turned to Todd, fiddling with the hem of her apron.

"Um, can I get you anything?" she asked. Todd grinned, although it would be more accurate to say that he showed his teeth.

"You don't happen to have any siblings, do you?"

"Todd!" John chastised as the girl paled. Already Todd began laughing, waving the joke away as a little bit of harmless fun.

"Do not worry yourself, little one." he said, voice sweet as honey. "I fed recently."

The girl gave a terrified nod and fled into the backroom while everyone else at the table looked at Todd with disapproval.

"Not everybody appreciates your sense of humour." John said slowly to drive the message home.

Todd made a derisive noise, which meant something along the lines of that John should eat his dinner and shut up.

John raised a finger in warning but let the matter rest.

 

Todd's dry humour went over much better with people once he started evacuating the sick and injured from the hospital threatening to collapse. Some of the townspeople even started laughing along occasionally. Especially older children seemed to like Todd. When one teenaged girl was reluctant about receiving a shot from Dr. Keller, who had arrived with several teams of soldiers and combat engineers, Todd was with her.

"I don't even understand what's in it." she said. Todd nodded gravely.

"I agree. I have heard many things about the dangers of food preservatives."

It took a second for the joke to sink in but when it did the girl was howling with laughter and distracted enough for Dr. Keller to give her the shot. After she rubbed her arm, smiling crookedly up at Todd.  
"Guess you'll have to live with a few chemicals in your food." she said on their way down. The elevators were in constant use to transport the bedridden patients. The girl could sit in a wheelchair, which Todd held under one arm, while John carried her down.

"I will live." he said. In that moment the rumbling started. John hurried down the stairs, taking two steps at once and ducked under the first falling debris.

The ground shook, almost throwing them off balance. People shouted for others to get outside.Todd already ran as fast as he could, having no desire to end up trapped underneath several tons of rubble. They'd never make it. A section of the building caved in as they reached the ground floor. Then John forced the girl into Todd's arms and shoved them forward. He stumbled, almost fell and behind him the crash of concrete giving in under its own weight. Dust rose and Todd broke into a run, set the girl off by the medical tent and turned to run back only to find that the building had come down already. He stood in front of what had been a hospital, knowing that John Sheppard was trapped somewhere underneath.

 

"John! If you can hear us, please answer!" Teyla shouted, voice already hoarse. Several others of the Atlantis crew were also trapped underneath the rubble but they had located all but one of them. Radio signals didn't cut through and the combat engineers deemed significant portions of the site too unstable to search. Some of them complained about not being allowed canine units on Atlantis, even as Rodney recalibrated their life signs detectors.

Medical teams took care of the survivors, most of them shaken but otherwise fine. Dr. Keller was in one of the tents, performing emergency surgery on one of the unluckier ones.

Todd couldn't do much of anything except search on foot, still holding out hope that John was still alive, that he wasn't buried under so much rubble even Ancient technology couldn't pick it up. Or worse that they didn't find a life sign because …

Todd shook his head. He wouldn't start thinking like that just now.

"John! Where are you?"

 

They searched until late into the night, the jumpers flood lights providing enough illumination to work by. Cots had been set up so the rescue crews could take brief naps and someone was handing out hot soup. Todd didn't need to sleep or eat and he climbed over the debris with Rodney's modified life signs detector in hand. With every hour passed John's chance of survival dimmed and as much as Todd wanted to imitate the man's never-ending optimism, he couldn't. It wasn't in his nature to assume the best outcome, much less so after Teyla had gone to get her own wounds looked at, leaving him to search alone.

Well, not completely alone.

"We'll find him, don't worry." the girl said as she crawled with him over the ruins. In the chaos no one missed a lone girl disappearing from the medical tent, but even so Todd was aware of how fragile humans could be. She should not be there with him and yet he couldn't bring himself to send her away.

"I know." Todd said with less conviction than he aimed for.

After that they didn't speak much, searching the ruins with quiet determination, until late in the night. At some point she tired and Todd was forced to pause his search to carry her back to the tent. She held the life signs detector in her hand while he worked on keeping his balance while climbing down the debris.

"Hey." she said suddenly, sleepiness disappearing from her voice. "What's that?"

 

It was a life sign, barely cutting through. Todd knew they'd searched this area already and it hadn't been there before. Either John dug his way further up or he managed to enhance the signal somehow. Either way he was alive. He had to be.

A crew of combat engineers came at Todd's call, gently but firmly pushing him aside to begin their work. He let them, still had to deliver the girl back to the medical tent.

"Your heart's beating like mad." she said, and of course she would have noticed, cradled against his chest like she was. "You really care about Colonel Sheppard, don't you?"

Todd told her to sleep and didn't answer the question, not even to himself.

 

They pulled John out in the late morning, with a bleeding headwound and a sprained wrist but otherwise unhurt. Todd was there first, even before Teyla who had been closer at the time. John laughed and cracked jokes, thanking the crew for saving him. And then it was just him and Todd, standing across each other, staring blankly.

"I …" Todd said and cleared his throat. "I am pleased you managed to survive."

John cracked a smile.  
"We still have a couple of levels in Portal to beat." he said and that was all they ever spoke of it.

 

They stayed on the planet a few days longer to help with the rescue and then the rebuilding efforts. People died and they were mourned but at the end of it all many survived who wouldn't have if it weren't for Atlantis' help. The gratitude hung in the air like fairy lights, enough of it that it even Todd got his share.

He was being hugged more than he thought was strictly necessary, and John had the time of his life happily ignoring his silent pleas for help. At some point it was just him and a young woman who introduced herself as the older sister of the girl Todd had saved. Her gratefulness proved to be especially physical. Todd was short of putting an end to this when he saw the changed expression on John's face. Well, two could play at that game.

 

"Is she _propositioning_ him?" Rodney asked.

John grunted, staring at Todd and his admirer with his arms crossed over his chest. He couldn't hear what they were saying but they were being awfully friendly with each other. Which was good. Better than good, in fact. It meant that people forgot the fact that he was a wraith, which they damn well better had, considering he just spent a week saving their asses.

But yes, it did look like the woman was propositioning him and it looked even more like it when just after midnight both of them disappeared together.

 

"You didn't …?" Rodney asked the next morning when they were on their way back to the Stargate.

"Didn't what, Dr. McKay?" Todd asked and he sounded innocent enough to make even John doubt.

"You know … with the woman. Yesterday. You didn't actually, uh … take her up on her offer. Right?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Todd said and still John couldn't tell if he was just messing with them, or if he really had what he thought he'd done.

"Seriously, did you? How is it even the wraith gets some before I do? Wait, does your hair look messier than usual? Todd? Todd, tell me the truth!"

But Todd just went to catch up with Dr. Keller, laughing all the way.

 

 

 


End file.
